Critical Mass was devised in 2020 to be the most ambitious, inclusive dance and mass participation project to ever happen in the West Midlands.
Inspired by the unique opportunity of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, we wanted to show how genuine inclusion can be achieved in mega-events and leave a lasting legacy within the West Midlands dance sector, ensuring disability inclusion became part of its DNA moving forward.
Critical Mass was Birmingham 2022 Festival’s flagship participation programme. It saw 242 young people from across the West Midlands engage to form a dance collective that performed at some of 2022’s biggest events, including the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony.
The Critical Mass collective was an integrated cast with people identifying as D/deaf, Disabled and non-disabled working side by side to show how genuine inclusion can be achieved in mega-events.
Critical Mass was originally conceived through a unique collaboration between Birmingham 2022 Festival, Fabric, Arts Connect and Dance Leaders Group (DLG), and generously supported by Spirit Of 2012.
In 2022, participants in Critical Mass performed in up to 5 different major cultural events across the Midlands:
- Wondrous Stories – The Opening Show of the Birmingham 2022 Festival
- SENSE – Birmingham International Dance Festival 2022
- Birmingham 2022 Queen’s Baton Relay
- Hear my Voice – Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony
- Birmingham 2022 Smithfield Festival Site
Critical Mass Dance Collective 2023
Building on the success of Critical Mass 2022, Fabric’s Soft Landing Programme (November 2022–March 2023) supported practitioners and organisations across the West Midlands to embed Critical Mass learning through participatory activity, strengthening its long-term legacy.
In March 2023 Fabric was commissioned by Birmingham Festival 23 and United by 2022 (the Commonwealth Legacy Charity) to produce and present a large-scale inclusive performance by the Critical Mass Dance Collective (CMDC) as part of, Birmingham Festival 23: The Official One-Year Anniversary Festival, in celebration of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games
ZoieLogic Dance Theatre was commissioned by Fabric as Artistic Director to create Solara, a large-scale performance developed between April and July 2023 with 80 young people from across the West Midlands, with and without disabilities. Co-created with Critical Mass Dance Collective and presented as part of Birmingham Festival 23, Solara was supported by Dance Leaders Group (DLG) and funded by United By 2022.
Watch the films
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Critical Mass 2022 Evaluation Report
The Critical Mass Evaluation Report was one of nine reports released by the Birmingham 2022 Festival. These reports explore how Birmingham and the West Midlands came together for a six-month celebration of creativity.Download Now -
Critical Mass Playbook
The Critical Mass Playbook is an amalgamation of these project learnings and can act as a useful guide for anyone taking on an inclusive project of this nature. You will find reflections and lessons learned from Critical Mass as well as practical hints and tips across areas of project design and set-up, delivery and close-down.Download Now -
